Pastry chef vs. Culinary chef?

Question: I'm trying to think of whether to become a traditional chef or a pastry chef....i have equal interests in both area's and so i'm trying to weight out the pros and cons of both... how do the hours differ? pastry chef job oportunities: better or worse compared to a regular chef? differences in salary? do most restaurants have a pastry chef that just does pastry or do they have a regular chef who does pastry as well as other things? and should you have a regular culnary degree as well as a pastry arts degree or would just the pastry degree be sufficent in becoming a pastry chef?

Answer: As Chef for twenty some years (culinary), there is a HUGE difference between the two. Culinary folk tend to work later, while pastry tend to start earlier. Both work long and hard hours. Most cooks at one point in their careers will have descirbed it as hell, but I can't speak for pastry. Most lower to mid scale restaurants the cooks do the pastry or they are purchased. In higher end restaurants and country clubs/hotels there are party chefs.

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